


october - everything about you tells me i'm your man

by woodchoc_magnum



Series: you can tell everybody this is your song [6]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Blow Jobs, Christopher Diaz is a National Treasure, Domestic Fluff, Eddie Diaz is the best dad, Established Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Possessive Eddie Diaz, Protective Eddie Diaz, Protective Evan "Buck" Buckley, Protective Firefam, Soft Eddie Diaz, Taylor Kelly likes to wreak havoc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:35:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25355605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/woodchoc_magnum/pseuds/woodchoc_magnum
Summary: "Don't toy with me!"He laughed, rubbing his bicep. "I'm not. You really won't say anything?""I promise."Fuck it. "It's Eddie, Hen." He looked at her meaningfully. "It'sEddie."
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Series: you can tell everybody this is your song [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1816843
Comments: 69
Kudos: 751





	october - everything about you tells me i'm your man

**Author's Note:**

> Drama arrives in the form of Taylor Kelly, dun dun dun...
> 
> Thank you as always to SevenSoulMates for her support!

****

* * *

**October**

"Buck, you're in charge of the Halloween decorations," Bobby ordered, looking up from his clipboard. "Get the place looking nice and spooky; we're going to have a lot of kids coming through."

"On it, Cap." Buck was lounging against the wall beside Eddie, their shoulders touching. He'd been back at work for three weeks, his throat fully healed – and, even better, Eddie had decided to have everyone over to their house for dinner, where he would then make the big announcement.

He just hadn't exactly said _when_ that dinner would be, but at least they had a plan.

"And Eddie, because you and Buck only seem to distract each other, you're helping me in the kitchen. It's about time you learned some culinary skills," Bobby said, and Eddie groaned.

"Cap, I think I'd be much better off—"

"No, you wouldn't." Bobby gave him a stern look. "Buck's got it under control."

They exchanged a glance, shrugging at each other. Chances were good that Bobby would swap them out pretty quickly, once he realised how woeful Eddie's knife skills really were.

"And one final thing – Taylor Kelly wants to do another news piece on us for Halloween," Bobby announced.

This time Eddie really did groan out loud, and amused looks were cast his way by the rest of the team. Buck folded his arms across his chest, trying not to grin.

Bobby eyed them both and said, "So she'll be here the day after tomorrow through Friday. Also, the Santa Monica Pier reopens this weekend for the first time since the tsunami, so we will be on call if there are any issues. And that's it."

Hen and Chimney joined their huddle – Hen was grinning at Eddie gleefully. "Your favourite person is back for round two – how exciting!"

Eddie rolled his eyes. "Yeah, can't wait for that," he said dryly. "What a fucking treat."

"Wonder how much time she'll spend hitting on you, Buckaroo?"

Buck shrugged, and then said with a sly grin, "Well, you know, it's hard to keep the ladies at bay, Hen. You know how it is, right? When you're this handsome, and smart—"

"Smart!" She slapped his arm. "Cocky, more like it. Come on – we've got half an hour before Cap actually makes us do stuff and I want to kick your ass at Mario Kart again."

"I think you'll find my skills are much improved," he shot back, letting her drag him to the TV.

Chimney and Eddie headed off together, presumably to work on building the stroller that Chimney was seemingly incapable of figuring out himself. Buck sank into the couch beside Hen and grabbed a controller while she set up the TV, and then took a seat beside him.

"So, Taylor Kelly," she said after a moment, glancing at him. "Big day."

"No, it's fine. Thanks."

"Still on guys then?"

"Yeah." Buck cast her a quick look. "One guy."

Hen raised her eyebrows with surprise. "Someone new?"

"Yeah. Well, not new."

"The same guy?"

He nodded. "Yep."

"Buck. Are you guys back together?"

He just wanted to _tell her._ She was one of his best friends, and things had been so great with Eddie that he just wanted to talk to someone about it, how close they'd gotten in the last few weeks, and how they'd made plans for the future – joined their bank accounts, set the wheels in motion to end Buck's lease and move him in permanently, and talked about adding him as one of Christopher's guardians, though Eddie needed to clarify with Carla about how to proceed. Not only that, but they'd switched the furniture around in Eddie's bedroom, brought in the bed from Buck's place (which was a little sturdier than Eddie's old one), and now, with the bed against the other wall away from the door, they were able to have (quiet) sex there, though usually Eddie made sure the door was locked and a blanket was shoved across the gap at the bottom to ensure that no noises leaked out.

Then of course, were the two new matching tattoos on their ribs – three small hearts linked together. Nobody had even noticed, but Christopher had thought it was awesome when they'd shown him.

And on the weekend, when they'd been wandering around at the mall with Christopher in tow, Eddie suggested they look at engagement rings. They hadn't bought any, but they'd tried some on together, and that was _exciting._

Buck was literally on cloud nine and he wanted to tell someone, so he said to Hen in a low voice, "This stays between us."

She nodded eagerly; hope written all over her face. "I promise you; I won't say anything to anyone."

And then he hesitated - fuck, was he really going to tell her? Really? After all these months? What if she was angry at him? He glanced at her uncertainly and gave a nervous chuckle. "Fuck, maybe I shouldn't."

She whacked his arm, _hard_ , and hissed, "Don't toy with me!"

He laughed, rubbing his bicep. "I'm not. You really won't say anything?"

"I promise."

_Fuck it._ "It's Eddie, Hen." He looked at her meaningfully. "It's _Eddie."_

Her jaw dropped.

~~

"So how are you going anyway?" Chimney asked, on his back, underneath the half-completed stroller for some ungodly reason. He really had absolutely no idea what he was doing, and Eddie needed him to get the hell out of the way so he could put the wheels on.

"Good," he said, nudging Chimney with his foot. "Can you move? I don't know what you're doing down there."

"I'm making sure that these screws are in tight."

"Yeah, but you might need to disassemble it again, so don't do them up too tightly." Eddie dropped to his knees, examining the stroller. "I think you've put this piece on back to front, man."

"I think you're wrong," Chimney replied, propping himself up on his elbow to examine his handiwork. He swore, sitting up fully. "God damn it. That was your fault."

"My fault? You're the one who bought the world's most complicated stroller."

"Yeah, yeah. Safety first and all that." Chimney sat up, crossing his legs, and turned the stroller onto its side. "So how are you, anyway?" he asked. "We haven't caught up for a beer in a while."

"Well, impending fatherhood will do that to you," Eddie teased. "But I'm good. No complaints."

"Buck moved out of your house yet or are you stuck with him permanently?" Chimney was studying the instructions, but when Eddie paused, he glanced over at him curiously.

Eddie said, without really thinking it through, "It's pretty permanent. His lease runs out next month and he's moving in."

Chimney's brow furrowed. He set the instructions down, studying Eddie curiously. "Um… what? What's going on?"

Well, he'd come this far. He shrugged and said with a laugh, "Well, you remember Buck's secret boyfriend? Yeah. That's me."

Chimney's jaw dropped comically slowly, until Eddie could pretty much count all his teeth one by one. He scratched the back of his neck and shrugged, averting his eyes. "I'm sorry, what the fuck?" Chimney hissed, punching Eddie's arm, hard. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

~~

"No, I need you to explain it to me one more time," Hen demanded, both hands on Buck's shoulders, staring at him desperately. "That whole thing about you secretly dating a firefighter from another station – that was Eddie. The whole time. _The exact whole time._ "

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you tell us?" she asked, shaking him back and forth. "Why? What was all the secrecy? You don't think we'd be supportive? Oh my god have you two been having sex here? I swear to god, Buck, if you had sex in the ambulance—"

"I wouldn't do that," he cut in, and when she balked at that, he added, " _Anymore._ "

"Answer my questions."

"He asked me out," Buck said, trying to keep his voice low, "when Christopher went to camp. And we've been together ever since."

" _He_ asked _you_ out," she replied, as though he was speaking a foreign language. " _Eddie Diaz_ asked _you_ out."

"Yes. Well, I thought we were just going out as friends but then he told me it was a date, and he bought my meal, and we made out after… so… yeah."

Hen blinked at him uncomprehendingly. "So you're telling me that for the last six months, nearly, you and Eddie have been a secret couple?"

"Yeah. We hid it pretty well, don't you think?"

She stared at him, and then barked out a laugh. "This is a joke. You two are joking with us. It's a prank."

He shook his head. "No."

"I don't believe for one second that Eddie—"

He undid his watch band and held out his arm. Eddie's name was tattooed across the inside of his wrist; Eddie had a matching one of his own. "Do you want me to show you the other two tattoos that are for him? We'll have to go down into the change room so I can take my clothes off."

She touched his wrist, and then blinked at him. "Buck… it's a prank. Isn't it?"

He sighed, doing up his watch and then unlocking his phone, opening his photos. "There you go. Six months of proof."

Hen scrolled through his photos, with her mouth set in a tight line. He watched her become more and more emotional, until finally she shoved the phone at him and wiped her eyes. "Well. I feel like shit."

"Why?" he asked, pocketing his phone again, one hand on her shoulder.

"Because… you obviously didn't feel like you could tell me about this." Hen looked away from him, clearly struggling to control her emotions. "And because maybe I wasn't… as, um, supportive as I could've been, when you came out. Maybe because I thought you were stupid for dating someone else when all I wanted was for you to be with Eddie, and it turns out you were with him the whole time. Fuck."

"You wanted me to be with Eddie?" he asked, amused.

She gave him an unhappy look, swallowing hard. "We all do, Bobby included. You two are so close. I never thought Eddie was anything less than straight. He gives nothing away."

"Wait, you guys wanted us to be a couple?"

"Yes, for like, years now." Hen cleared her throat, wiping her eyes again. "But I thought he was straight. I never even considered for one second that he wasn't. He's not like you; he just… keeps his shit on lockdown. With you, we knew there was something going on, but from Eddie? No way."

"Well, Athena figured it out," he said dryly, and her eyes widened again. "From really early on, too."

"And she didn't _tell me_?!"

"I guess she's a lot better at keeping secrets than you and Chim are," he said pointedly, grinning when she slapped his arm again. His phone buzzed, and he yanked it back out of his pocket to check his messages. There was one from Chimney that read, ' _BUCK GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW.'_ Buck frowned. "What's his problem?"

~~

When Buck and Hen arrived, Chimney had Eddie outside the station and was in the middle of an epic tirade that had lasted for – Eddie checked his watch – three and a half minutes.

"And all this time you were sneaking around; you were coming over and having dinner and then you were going home again, and you were driving around the city together and you were coming to work, and all this time you were together and you didn't think that we should know, and honestly, Eddie, I am so disgusted in you right now that I can't believe for a single second that I was going to name you one of the godfathers of _my child_ , and—"

"Oh, you told Chim," Buck commented, slouching against the wall, his hands in his pockets. "He's taking it well."

Chimney whirled around to face them, jabbing a finger at him. "And you. Traitor! Maddie knows? The mother of my child knows, and I'm not told? What the fuck, Buck?"

"Oh, good, I'm not the last to find out then," Hen said, punching Buck in the shoulder, hard.

"You didn't know either?"

"No, this idiot just told me upstairs."

Chimney gestured to Eddie, who was still sitting on the ground. "This idiot just told me down here!"

Eddie met Buck's eyes. "You didn't tell me you were going to do that."

"You didn't tell me either. I must've read your mind." Buck grinned at him. "They're pretty pissed off."

"Pissed off?!" Chimney and Hen snapped at the same time.

Eddie rose to his feet, dusting off his pants. "Well, I just felt like today was the day," he said to Buck, ignoring their angry looks. "I'm getting kinda sick of pretending."

"Maybe we should go and tell Bobby, then," Buck suggested.

"Uh, no," Hen cut in, grabbing Buck around the bicep, and dragging him away from Eddie. "If you think we're upset, how mad do you think Bobby will be?"

"Um…"

"He'll definitely split you up," Chimney remarked, arms folded across his chest. "I would, because you're a pair of idiots."

"Yeah but for six months you had no idea," Eddie retorted. "So what's the big deal? Obviously, we can separate work from our personal lives."

"You're not supposed to fuck each other," Chimney shot back. "Dumbass."

"Hey," Buck cut in, pulling out of Hen's grasp and glancing at Eddie protectively. "Chim. Cut it out."

"What the fuck are you doing?" Chimney asked him, turning his back on Eddie. "Do you have any idea how stupid you are?"

"Hey!" Eddie snapped. "That's enough."

"No, you two need to listen to me, because I'm your goddamn elder," Chimney retorted. "Listen. The five of us – you two, me and Hen and Bobby – we're a great team. And you two are going to fuck it up for all of us."

Eddie said, "But we haven't. You didn't even know until now. What do you think is going to change exactly?"

"The next time there's danger, we won't send you both in together," Hen replied, folding her arms across her chest. "That's the problem. You two are compromised."

Buck said quietly, "You really think I wouldn't die for either of you as well? That I'd lay my life down so you guys could live? You don't know me at all."

"Buck," Eddie said, touching his back. "Don't say that."

"It's true," he said simply, glancing at him. "You guys are my family. I love you all, so much. If I had to make the hard decision, I would. Chim is going to be the father of my niece or nephew, and Hen is one of my best friends in the entire world and a mother herself. And Eddie…" he closed his eyes briefly. "Eddie's the goddamn love of my life. So yeah, I'm compromised. I love you all too much."

"Well, we're all fucked then," Chimney muttered, his hands on his hips.

Eddie slipped his arm around Buck's waist, pulling him close. "It's not going to happen," he said to them. "He got beat up last month and I was okay."

"You were an absolute wreck," Buck replied. "They just didn't see any of it."

Hen gave him a worried look. "What happened? We hardly even saw you after that happened – oh fuck, that's why Buck was staying with you. I told Karen that I thought it was weird." She paused, and then asked incredulously, "Does _Karen know?_ "

Eddie winced. "Um. Yes."

"What the _fuck_ ," she hissed at them, and slapped Eddie in the shoulder, hard. "You two! Who else knows?"

"Just, um, you guys, and Maddie and Karen…"

"Athena," Buck added.

"And Carla, and some of my family…" Eddie trailed off. "Just… a few people."

"Seems like everyone knows but us," Chimney said to Hen, who harrumphed in agreement.

"You know Bobby is going to absolutely hit the roof," she said to Buck. "Buck. You should've been honest from the outset."

Buck glanced at Eddie loyally and said, "Nah. It'll be okay. We'll figure it out."

Hen exchanged a look with Chimney, and then rubbed her eyes. "God, you two," she groaned. "For months we've been wondering why Buck has been so secretive about everything, and why Eddie was covering for him, and it turns out you two have just been banging the whole damn time."

"I mean, you could've just put two and two together," Buck said, slinging an arm around Eddie's shoulders. "My Instagram was the dead giveaway."

"But you always post pictures of Eddie and Christopher!" she argued.

He grinned. "Yeah. They're my whole world."

"What are we going to do with you two? Honestly," Chimney muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You're both really fucking annoying."

"They've even got matching tattoos," Hen said. "That's just inviting bad luck."

Eddie grinned at Buck. "Nah," he replied, pulling him a little closer. "They're just little love marks. That's all."

~

"So…" Buck trailed off, looking around the baby's nursery with a puzzled expression. "It seems to me that the painting is done?" Maddie had called him on his day off, begging him to come over to paint the baby's room.

"Yes, but… I hate it," Maddie confessed.

"You hate it? It's green. What's there to hate?"

She heaved an exaggerated sigh, settling down into the rocking chair in the corner of the room. "Chim and I agreed that we didn't want pink or blue," she said. "We researched all these colours and we picked green because it promotes… brain… power? Oh god, Buck, I can't even think straight anymore."

He grinned, sitting down on the floor across from her, crossing his legs. "Eddie says all that stuff is junk, and you just need to pick a colour you like."

"Well, I want yellow," she said determinedly. "I don't like this green. It's ugly. It looks like the pea soup vomit in _The Exorcist_. Did I tell you Chim made me watch that? It was _awful._ "

"Eddie's making me watch horror movies this month in the lead up to Halloween. Last week we watched _A Nightmare on Elm Street_ ; this week we're watching _Halloween_." Buck shrugged. "I mean, I get it, but like… maybe you needed to grow up watching them to appreciate it? I don't know."

"He's not a movie buff like Chimney, is he?" she asked. "It's exhausting sometimes. He'll say something to me and look at me with his eyebrows raised, like it's a joke, but I don't get it. I never get it! Sometimes I feel like we were raised Amish or something."

"Eddie says it's like I was dropped onto the planet with zero knowledge of movies," Buck replied, "but I make up for it with music. I prefer music anyway."

"You always did." Maddie smiled at him fondly. "How are things with Eddie, now that almost everyone knows?"

He was grinning like a lovesick fool before he could help himself, leaning back on his hands. "It's great. Everything is really great."

"He's okay with people knowing? I know… when you were in the hospital, he was really freaked out about people finding out."

"Yeah, we've talked about it a lot," he replied. "He's just private, Maddie. That's all it is. He just doesn't like people to know his personal business, but… we're talking about getting married, so… we're going to have to tell people."

"You _are?_ " She looked stunned. "It's only been a few months."

He shrugged. "There's no one else for me."

"I mean, how do you even know that quickly?"

"God, I think I knew the day we first met. It just took a while for us to get there, that's all."

Maddie said, "I just don't believe in love at first sight."

"Neither do I. Lust at first sight? Yep, definitely." Buck grinned at her. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. The goofball wants to marry me, Maddie. I look at him and I just… I never loved anyone or anything the way I love him. He does all these things for me, you know… like, I don't even know how to explain it. He said he feels guilty because I cook for us all the time, so he does the dishes and practically elbows me out of the kitchen if I try to help. Every morning he makes me a coffee and if we have a day off, he brings it to me when I'm in bed." Buck closed his eyes briefly, swallowing hard. "I just… I wanted this for so long, and now that it's happening, I can't even believe it sometimes."

"Oh, Evan," she said, clutching both hands to her chest. "I'm so happy for you. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know. And I'm happy for you," he said, gesturing to her growing stomach. "You're going to be a great mother."

"God, I hope so. You and I didn't really have the best role model for that." She looked around the room, shaking her head slightly. "I just want to be the best mom. I want my kid to know what it's like to have two parents who love you more than anything. I know our parents love us, but… they're so selfish. I don't want to be selfish. I want to do this right." She gave a firm nod, patting her stomach. "Chim and I are going to be great at this."

"You guys will be amazing. He's so excited."

She broke into a huge smile. "I know. If I'm craving something – it doesn't matter what it is – he will go and get it for me. He rubs my back and feet as well. I mean, we both found ourselves keepers, didn't we?"

"We definitely did."

"And you're already practically a dad, with Christopher. You're so great with him, Buck. You're going to be such a good uncle." She was emotional again, blinking back tears. "And now I'm crying, _again._ "

"It's okay, you're pregnant."

"Yeah, but it's not great when I'm trying to do my job and talk someone through something, and I've got tears rolling down my face. Stupid hormones," she muttered, snatching a tissue from the pack on the changing table. "Anyway, I can't stand this colour. I hate it. It needs to be changed before Chim gets home – Buck, can you please? Please?"

"Isn't he going to be pissed if I come in here and change things around? He already scolded Eddie and I the other day when we put the stroller together _correctly_ ," he said, rolling his eyes. "And when we offered to do the car seat, he looked so offended, like it was a personal insult or anything. He's just not great at assembling baby stuff."

Maddie smiled fondly. "No, he isn't, but he makes up for it in enthusiasm. Electronics – sure. Actual equipment? Not so much. Please, please, Buck – can you paint the room again before he comes back? If I do it while he's out, then he just has to accept it."

"This seems deceitful."

She groaned. "It's not, I'm just… he'll want to have a _discussion_ and I just want to do it. Yellow is so much nicer than green."

"It's your call," he said, looking around the room. "I'm going to have to sand it, I think? We'll have to take the furniture out."

"Can you call Eddie and ask if he'll help?"

He checked his watch. Eddie should have picked up Christopher from his therapy session, so he said, "All right, I'll call him, but Christopher will have to come over as well. Is that okay?"

"Of course it's okay. We can bake cookies together while you guys work."

"Chim is going to kill us, you know."

"I'll deal with him, don't worry about that."

~

Eddie and Christopher arrived half an hour later, after stopping to pick up Eddie's sander. Buck was already working on the walls when they arrived, and he only realised Eddie was there when he felt a firm slap to his rear. He turned Chimney's sander off and grinned at him. "Hey, sexy."

"Hey yourself." Eddie greeted him with a kiss. "What colour are we painting this?"

"Yellow. We have four hours until Chim gets home."

"He's going to hit the roof." Eddie looked around the room with a grimace. "Is she going to change her mind again?"

"Most definitely."

~

By the time Chimney arrived home, the room was an airy shade of yellow, and Maddie was admiring it with satisfaction. Buck had a streak of paint on his cheek – Eddie's fault – and Eddie had fresh splatters across his already paint-splattered t-shirt.

Christopher said admiringly, "This is a good colour; I like it."

"Smart kid," Maddie said to him, ruffling his hair. "Come on – we've made you guys some cookies."

"I'll come back tomorrow to fix the furniture up," Buck said to her, kneeling down to close up the paint tin again. "Just in case Chim freaks out about that."

"Don't worry, it'll be fine," she said, as Chimney's voice echoed through the house.

"Maddie? What's going on?" he called – worried, of course, because both Buck and Eddie's cars were there, and he wasn't expecting them.

"Oh god, we're dead," Eddie hissed at Buck. "I thought we could get out of here before he got home."

"We're up here!" Maddie called.

There were footsteps on the stairs and then Chimney appeared in the doorway, staring in at them quizzically. "What—oh my god. What have you _done?_ "

"I told you I didn't like the colour, so the boys fixed it," Maddie said sweetly.

Chimney looked around the room in shock, his jaw agape. "We decided on green!"

"I didn't like it." Maddie raised her eyebrows at him. "Buck and Eddie did a nice job."

Eddie winced at Chimney, packing up his sander. "Sorry buddy, the Buckley's overruled you on this one."

"Why are we marrying into this family again?" Chimney asked him. "I mean, it's going to be like this forever, isn't it?"

Maddie stepped over to him and gave him a hug, kissing his cheek. "You love us."

"You both just do whatever you want to do," he complained, but acquiesced and rubbed her back. "Okay. Yellow it is, I guess. Did you go to the paint store and pick this out?"

"I sure did." Maddie glanced over her shoulder at Buck and mouthed, ' _Thank you.'_

Buck shrugged modestly. As they left the room, Buck noticed Christopher looking around curiously and asked, "What's up, buddy?"

"If you and Dad get married," Christopher asked seriously, "does that make me a cousin?"

"Yes," Eddie replied, kneeling down beside him. "When Buck and I get married, you'll have another cousin."

"When?" Christopher looked back and forth between them. "When is it happening?"

"I don't know yet, kiddo, your Dad hasn't proposed to me." Buck winked at Eddie, who rolled his eyes. "Next year sometime, probably."

"Okay." Christopher smiled at Eddie. "Do you think that Maddie will let me hold the baby when it comes?"

"Of course she will. I'll show you how to," Eddie reassured him. "You're going to be great at this."

"You think so?"

"Yes, definitely." Eddie gave him a hug and stood again, glancing at Buck. "I think this is going to be a thing, though – you and your sister making unilateral decisions that Chim and I will just have to go along with."

"Look, if there's one thing I can tell you, Eds," Buck replied, pulling him in for a hug, "it's that I _do not want to paint our baby's room this colour._ "

"Yeah, probably some other god awful colour." Eddie kissed his cheek. "Come on, let's steal some cookies and get out of here."

**~*~*~**

_**Chimney** _

"You do this a lot, you know," he said to Maddie at dinner. "Just change your mind about things. Is this a Buckley trait?"

"I'm pregnant, you can't blame me." She gave him an impish smile, sipping her water. "I don't know what I was thinking, agreeing to green. It's not right. It has to be perfect."

"You can just tell me if you don't like the colour," he said patiently. "You don't need to go to the paint shop by yourself and call Buck to come and fix it. Maddie, if you don't like it, it's fine."

"I know," she replied, embarrassed. "I just… honestly? I wanted to see Buck."

He chuckled. "You could just invite him over."

"Yeah, but… I miss him. Not that I'm upset that he has Eddie, but just… things have really changed. I have you, and he has Eddie, and our lives are veering off again."

"But in a different way than the last time," he said gently.

"Still a little scary." Maddie smiled at him, and swallowed hard. "Seeing him all grown up, in a serious relationship, with a guy, which I still… It still surprises me."

He sat back in his seat and said, "I worked with them every day for months and I didn't know."

"That's not what I mean. For some reason – and this is going to sound stupid, and I don't want you to ever say anything to him," she warned, "but I always pictured him marrying a woman and having a bunch of babies."

"Well, as Hen would say, that's very hetero-normative of you." He raised his eyebrows at her, and she covered her face. "But it's okay; I understand. It's not what you expected, and that's okay."

"Never tell him I said that."

"I honestly think he'd find it funny." Chimney reached out to take her hand and said, "Listen, if you're worried about Eddie – he's a great guy, honestly. He'd do anything for anyone, he goes above and beyond… he and Buck are probably a perfect match. Not as perfect as you and I, but still. Pretty close to perfect."

"When I think about Eddie," she said quietly, "I remember watching him during dinner with our parents; the way he deflected them from Buck. At the time I thought it was just because they were best friends, but now I see it's his way of showing Buck how much he loves him."

"I can't believe I didn't put two and two together after that," Chimney muttered. "I thought it was weird but… honestly, I was so stressed out about that whole thing that I really wasn't paying too much attention."

"You just wait," she said, leaning back in her seat, one hand on her belly. "They'll be back for the birth and it'll be on again."

"Why am I marrying a Buckley again?"

"Because," she said, "you and Eddie are lucky to have landed yourselves the very best Buckley's in the family. We're the nice ones."

"Oh," he said with a laugh, leaning in to kiss her. "Is that so?"

"Mmm, yeah it is."

**~*~*~**

Taylor Kelly arrived at the station two days later, on Halloween, with her camera crew in tow. Buck was up a ladder, making sure the decorations were perfect, when he heard her call out to him. He threw her a wave and turned his back, because Eddie was watching – he didn't know where, but somewhere in the station, Eddie had his eyes on him.

And then he had a devilish thought. Maybe he could make Eddie a _little bit_ jealous – that might work out nicely for him, in the end.

With that in mind, he descended the ladder and approached her with a grin. "Hey. How have you been?"

Taylor raked her eyes over him appreciatively. "Nice to see you again," she practically purred. "It's been too long."

He arched his eyebrows. He was looking good, he had to admit – he and Eddie worked out together every single day (and most nights), so he was perhaps even more ripped than he had been when they were sleeping together. The only difference now was the fact that Eddie's name was written on his wrist, his words were on his hip and his heart was on his chest.

"Keeping busy?" he asked her, leaning in ever so slightly. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Eddie emerge from the locker room, positively livid.

"Yeah, very. This is a fluff piece, but I've actually gotten to do some serious journalism the last few years, which has been nice." Taylor bit her lower lip, one hand on her hip, drinking him in. "Are you… working out more? You look amazing."

"Just the usual," he said, ignoring the sound of Eddie clearing his throat from somewhere behind them. "Seeing anyone?"

"A couple of guys," she replied with a grin. "No one special. What about you, Buck? It's been a while since I've seen you. Maybe we should get a drink sometime."

"Hey!" Eddie suddenly called, sauntering over to them as though he hadn't been listening and watching the entire time. "Buck. Can I borrow you for a sec?"

Taylor glanced over at him, and smirked. "You _are_ seeing someone."

He shrugged. "Maybe."

"Could've picked that from the last time I was here. Good to see you, Eddie," she said coolly, and he folded his arms across his chest and glared at her.

Buck grinned. "Catch you later."

Taylor smirked at him. "See you around, hot stuff."

Eddie took him by the arm and practically dragged him into the locker room, a murderous look on his face. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

Buck was laughing. "What?" he asked innocently.

"You know exactly what you're doing," Eddie hissed. "Don't play coy."

"Yeah, I wanted to get you all worked up."

Eddie made sure the men's toilets were empty before shoving Buck into a cubicle and locking the door behind them. Buck's eyes lit up as Eddie grabbed his hips with both hands and pulled him in for a crushing kiss. Buck made a little noise, knowing it would drive him crazy, and gasped when Eddie pulled away, yanked his collar to the side, and sunk his teeth into the curve of his neck, sucking hard.

"Oh, fuck, Eds," Buck breathed. "Are we really doing this here?"

"No, I just want to remind you—" Eddie pulled away, admiring his handiwork, and then licked a stripe from the base of Buck's neck to his lips, "who your fucking boyfriend is."

"Fuck me," Buck whispered hotly. "Right here."

"Can't. You're going to have to wait." Eddie pushed his hand between Buck's legs and squeezed, and when Buck threw his head back, Eddie licked his throat again.

"Please—"

"No." Eddie pulled away, pressing his back to the door, breathing heavily.

Buck whined. "Please."

Eddie shook his head, smirking at him. "Don't fucking flirt with her."

Buck took a single step towards him, one hand on his belt, and whispered, "But I wanted to see what you'd do."

"Did you get your answer?"

"No." Buck licked his lips. "I think I could make it up to you, but you'll have to be quiet."

Eddie's eyes lit up. "Really? Here?"

"Yes." Buck put one hand over Eddie's mouth, holding it in place as he dropped to his knees, and undid his fly. Eddie's breath was hot on his hand, and he leaned against the door, clenching his fists.

They had to be quick, before someone noticed they were missing, so Buck did away with his usual foreplay and gave Eddie the quickest, sloppiest, seediest blow job of his life – keeping his hand firmly over Eddie's mouth as he sucked like his life depended on it, and Eddie thrust helplessly into his mouth, one hand on the back of Buck's head. Eddie liked a lot of suction, so it was only a few minutes before he was gasping and coming, Buck lapping it up greedily.

"Fuck," Eddie breathed.

Buck grinned, tucking him away and doing up his pants, before rising to his feet to press a wanton kiss to his lips. "Feel better?"

"Mmm." Eddie swayed a little, his arms around Buck's waist. "No more fucking flirting."

"I promise."

~~

"So Buck," Taylor said, taking a seat across from him at the table. "I was hoping to do an interview with you about everything you've been through in the last year. I heard about the truck bomb, and the tsunami – I feel like there's an interesting story there."

Eddie was on the couch, staring blankly at his phone, straining to listen.

Buck said, "No, I'm cool. I don't want to talk about it. Thanks, though."

"But this weekend is the grand opening of the pier," she pressed on. "It'd be a nice human-interest piece to have you return there—"

"No."

Eddie turned his head slightly. Hen, sitting across from him, gave him a questioning look.

"Oh, come on," Taylor said, dropping her voice a little. "I heard you rescued a bunch of people. I was thinking maybe you'd like to do a reunion with them, and we'd cover it. I heard what a hero you were."

Buck said, politely but firmly, "I'm really not interested in doing that. It's not something I want to talk about."

"But Buck, come on," she insisted. "The human-interest side of it – rescuing a disabled child and then losing him? It'd be so interesting—"

Eddie was up like a shot, the words spewing out of his mouth before he could stop them. "So this is why you're here?" he demanded. "You heard about Buck and the tsunami and you want to get him crying on TV about it? Is that it?"

Taylor glared at him. "That's none of your business."

"It is my business, because that disabled kid you're talking about? That's my fucking kid," he snarled, tapping his chest.

"Well then," Taylor said brightly, rising to her feet. "Maybe you'd like to have a moment to talk about how that made you feel?"

Chimney, standing in the kitchen with a cup of tea, remarked, "You are going to get yourself killed, Taylor Kelly. Back off, now."

She held her hands out innocently. "What? I came here for a story, and I got a scoop. Buck loses Eddie's kid in the tsunami," she said, "and they're boyfriends as well? Come on. People will eat this shit up."

Hen wrapped both hands around Eddie's right arm, holding him in place. He tried to yank away from her, but she pulled him back with all her strength. "Don't," she said in his ear. "Don't bite."

Buck had a haunted expression on his face. "You want us to talk about the worst day of our lives?" he asked her, crushed, as though he couldn't believe anyone would be so cruel. "You want me to relive that? Losing Eddie's son? That kid is my whole world and you want me to talk about it on camera?"

"Oh, he lived? Would've been more interesting if he'd died."

Something in Eddie's brain completely snapped. He wanted to _kill her_ , but couldn't, and instead wrenched away from Hen, raking his hands through his hair, seething with anger.

To his complete shock, Buck was the one to stand up and say, in a low, venomous voice, "You can get the fuck out."

Taylor fluttered her eyelashes at him. "What?"

"You heard me."

"You're not really in a position—"

"Bobby will back me up. Get the fuck out of our station." Buck folded his arms across his chest, glaring at her hatefully. Eddie had never seen him look like that, _ever_ , and he could hardly speak – Hen was pressed in beside him, her arm around his waist, and Chimney was striding over to stand beside Buck.

"You come in here," he said to her, his voice low, "and you think that you can be glib about the fact that Buck nearly died twice in the space of six months, and Eddie's son almost died as well. We see right through you. No one wants to relive this. Buck, Eddie and Christopher have been through enough."

"And if you even so much as think of outing them," Hen warned, "we'll sue. You remember Athena Grant, right? Well, she knows people."

Taylor looked at them all in turn, and finally made a face, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Fine," she said flatly. "Clearly I've struck a nerve."

"What's going on?" Bobby called from downstairs, looking up at the balcony with concern. "I heard arguing."

"Taylor is leaving," Chimney said to him. "She's not welcome here, ever again."

Bobby tilted his head to the side. "Fine by me," he replied. "You guys can pack up your stuff and go."

"You're unbelievable," Taylor hissed at Buck. "You're such a coward."

"Oh, will you shut the fuck up?" Hen groaned. "Nobody cares what you think. Get out."

As Taylor and her camera crew descended the stairs, Buck visibly relaxed. "Thank you," he said to Chimney and Hen, his shoulders sagging. "I really… I really can't talk about that on TV."

"No one would ever expect you to," Chimney replied, patting Buck's back. "I knew she must've had an angle."

"What happened?" Bobby asked, striding up the stairs. "What did she say?"

They filled him in, leaving out the part about how Buck and Eddie were boyfriends. Buck had his eyes trained on the floor, looking so _guilty_ , and Eddie wanted to chase after her and scream at her some more for causing Buck _more_ guilt and pain about something that wasn't his fucking fault in the first place.

Instead he said, "Cap, Buck and I finish in half an hour. I think he needs a hug from Chris. Can we take off?"

"Yes, of course," Bobby said to him.

"You don't need us to hang around for this?"

"No, we've got it covered. You two take Christopher trick or treating." Bobby smiled at him.

"We'll be in early tomorrow," Buck promised.

"No, you won't. It's okay." Bobby gave him a quick, reassuring pat on the back. "Go on."

~

Christopher was home with Carla when they arrived, making last minute adjustments to his costume. He was excited, bouncing around with pent-up energy, but when Eddie knelt to give him a hug he stilled, instantly concerned. Christopher was perceptive; he always had been.

"Hey, you think you can give Buck a big hug for me?" Eddie said in his ear.

He nodded, holding his arms out, and Buck swept him up and swung him around. Christopher let out a whoop of laughter, wrapping around Buck like a koala.

"Bad day?" Carla asked Eddie quietly.

"Yeah." Eddie tried to smile; but couldn't. "This reporter came by; was asking nosy questions. We're both a bit upset."

Carla rubbed his back reassuringly. "Not that redhead on Channel 8?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"I remember how jealous you were the first time she was hanging around your boy." Carla tilted her head towards Buck, who was on the floor with Christopher sitting on top of him, both giggling helplessly.

"I wasn't jealous," he objected, trying not to blush. "I just didn't like her."

" _Mmmhmm_." Carla arched her eyebrows at him, and then held up Christopher's dinosaur costume. "What do you think?"

"I think he's going to look very scary," Eddie said, loud enough so Christopher could hear.

"I think it's terrifying," Buck added, and yelped when Christopher dug his fingers into his sides again, trying to tickle him. "No, god no! Not the tickle monster!"

Eddie laughed at them, pulling his phone out to take some quick photos. Carla watched him with a smile on her face and said, "You know, I really am happy for you two."

He nodded, flashing her a grateful look. "Thank you. I couldn't have done any of this without you, you know."

"Well, I am invaluable." Carla winked at him. "You three will be all right tonight? Hitting the mean streets together?"

"Candy!" Christopher cheered, shrieking as Buck flipped him upside down. "No!"

"Gotcha!"

"Careful!" Carla admonished them, and they both cackled at her, wrestling on the floor.

Eddie left them to it and went into the kitchen to retrieve the bag of candy from the top of the cupboard. Carla joined him, rummaging through her purse. "So I'll see you on Monday," she said. "I'll take him to therapy after school."

"That would be great. I finish at six that day, I think," he replied, checking the schedule. "Yeah, six. Actually, I have no overnights this week. Buck's taking a couple of extra shifts; he didn't tell me why."

"Reasons!" Buck shouted from the living room.

He raised his eyebrows at her. "Obviously, some sort of surprise."

"Obviously." Carla smiled warmly at him. "Well, I'm heading out. You three are all good here?"

"We're fine, but…" Eddie gestured for her to step closer to him, and then dropped his voice. "The pier is opening on the weekend. Do you think… it's a bad idea to go, right?"

She looked surprised. "Well… honestly? It might be good for them both. You guys used to spend a lot of time at the beach and you don't anymore."

"Yeah, Buck doesn't talk about it much, but… I think he's still nervous." Eddie tapped his chin. "I don't want to rush them into anything. Maybe it's not a good idea; there'll be a lot of people. I don't know."

"Why do you want to do this?" she asked him.

"I just… I thought maybe it would help Christopher, to see that it won't happen again. Or that… it was a freak thing that happened, and he can go to the beach and feel safe and secure. Or maybe he shouldn't, I don't know. I just don't want him to have a lifelong fear of the ocean and water."

"So… why don't you ask them?" she suggested. "Talk about it tonight. See what they say. Maybe you could make a day of it. If you and Buck are both there with him, he'll be okay."

Eddie nodded thoughtfully. "Okay. I'll bring it up tonight."

~

He mentioned it to Buck first, as they were changing into their costumes. Buck listened as he explained his idea, and why he wanted to do it, but then gave him a concerned look.

"I'll be okay," he said, "but you don't think it's too soon for him?"

"I don't know. I just thought I'd ask him." Eddie examined the black button-up with a frown. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes, come on. Put it on." Buck was examining his reflection in the mirror, adjusting the wide-brimmed hat on his head. "It'll be a real surprise. He has no idea we're doing this."

"Mmm, I just don't know why I have to go as the guy who almost gets eaten and you get to go as the hero who saves everyone," Eddie grumbled.

"Because honestly, babe, I just think you're going to look so fucking hot dressed all in black with those glasses on," Buck replied bluntly, "and this might be a fantasy of mine."

Eddie smirked at him. "I knew it."

"Yeah, well. I'm just ticking things off the list today, aren't I?" Buck flashed him a grin, studying his reflection again. "Well, I think he'll get it."

"I think you look fucking hot," Eddie remarked, and Buck laughed. "Mr Archaeologist over here."

"Damn right." Buck hooked both hands in his belt, turning side on. "A young, sexy Dr Alan Grant."

Eddie put the glasses on, frowning deeply at his own reflection. "I look stupid."

Buck shook his head vehemently, reaching out to undo the first couple of buttons on his shirt, and then carefully rolled his shirtsleeves up to his elbows. "Like this," he said, trailing a finger down Eddie's chest, through his patch of chest hair. "Give the ladies a taste of what they can't have."

Eddie licked his lips, staring at him with hooded eyes. "You can have it."

"I'm going to have it." Buck leaned in and kissed him. "Come on. Let's surprise the hell out of your kid."

Christopher shrieked with happiness when they emerged from the bedroom. In the few months since he'd first seen _Jurassic Park,_ he had watched it another dozen times at home, and he was more than delighted when sloppier, younger versions of Dr Alan Grant and Dr Ian Malcolm strutted down the hall towards him.

Christopher was in a dinosaur costume, custom made to fit his crutches – Buck's idea. He and Carla had designed it together – she'd done the sewing, and then he had spent nights on the floor in the living room hot gluing scales to the back of the costume while they watched TV.

"Oh my god," Buck gasped, grabbing Eddie by the arm. "It's a velociraptor!"

"Stay perfectly still," Eddie warned him, grinning as Christopher let out peals of delighted laughter. "Don't make a move. Their eyesight is based on movement."

"No it's not!"

"We'll have to sneak up on it," Buck said, taking an exaggerated step forward.

Christopher wiggled, giggling helplessly.

"Make it our pet," Eddie suggested, holding his hands out as if to grab Christopher.

"No!"

"But if we can't tame it, we won't be able to go trick-or-treating," Buck said, sticking his bottom lip out. "Would we?"

"Nope."

Christopher bounced up and down. "No, we can go! We can go!"

Eddie hopped over to him and picked him up. "Got him!"

"Quick, let's go before he attacks us!"

Christopher shrieked, laughing hysterically. "Stop!"

"Oh, he's very tame," Eddie said to Buck, giving Christopher a hug. "I think we can handle it."

"If you say so, I'm still pretty scared," Buck replied, pulling his phone out of his pocket. "Say cheese, you two. Let's get some pics of the night that Eddie and I caught a dinosaur."

**~*~*~**

_**Athena** _

Athena let out a hearty laugh, scrolling through her Instagram feed. "Oh, that's sweet."

"What's that?" Bobby asked, jogging down the steps to the living room. He'd just handed out candy to another group of trick-or-treaters.

"Buck, Eddie and Christopher. They've dressed up like the characters from _Jurassic Park_ ," she said, handing him her phone. "Aren't they adorable?"

Bobby examined the pictures with a smile on his face. "Yeah, it is," he replied. "They seem to spend a lot of time together."

"Oh, you think?" Athena took her phone from him, clicked into Buck's main Instagram feed, and handed it back. "If Buck's not at work, he's with them."

Bobby began to scroll, his brow furrowing.

She sipped her wine, watching him, and had a momentary flash of realisation. _He doesn't know._ "Uh… but I know Buck's still seeing someone, right?"

He glanced at her quickly, and then turned his attention back to the phone. "Yeah. These… there's nothing else on here. It's just Buck, Eddie and Christopher. This has been going on… since… Eddie started?"

"Well, they're best friends—"

"Yeah, but you and Hen are best friends and I'm sure your Instagram pages don't look like this," Bobby said, taking the seat beside her. "Athena, you don't think… that Buck's secret boyfriend is Eddie? Do you?"

She tried to keep a straight face. "No."

"Because… you know, I haven't wanted to say anything, but… I've noticed they've been acting differently. And I've been wondering for a while now if it was just me, but I haven't wanted to address it because it's not my place to question them. They haven't done anything wrong. It's just a feeling." He scrolled through Buck's Instagram again, looking worried. "I don't know."

Athena placed a hand on his arm and asked him seriously, "What do you think? Honestly."

Bobby raised his eyebrows, and said, "Honestly, I think that Buck has been lying from the start. I think that he's always with Eddie - they're always together at work. They look at each other all the time. When Buck was hurt Eddie was acting strangely at the hospital, and he even had Carla bring Christopher down as well, which I thought was odd. And then Buck stayed with him, and… Eddie's place only has two bedrooms. I know that." Bobby bit his lip. "But now I think that… my instincts are probably right, and they are together. And they've been hiding it from me."

Athena sighed. "Bobby—"

"Maybe they thought I'd be upset. I don't know. I thought Buck trusted me."

How could she tell him that she'd known for months? He'd be so betrayed. Maybe she should've said something to him, but the boys had their reasons for keeping it secret, and she wouldn't have felt right about outing them. So she said, "Honestly, Bobby, maybe they're just scared, and it's nothing to do with you. Buck has been searching for the right person for a long, long time now. Maybe now that he has Eddie, they want to keep it just for themselves."

Bobby nodded slowly, scrolling through the photos again. "You don't think Buck is setting himself up for disappointment, though? That Eddie might meet someone else?"

At that she let out an amused chuckle, shaking her head. "No. Not a chance. Bobby, look at those pictures – in all the ones that are just of Eddie – think about who he's smiling at like that. Does he smile like that at work? Does he look that relaxed and happy when he's at work? They're in love. They're two dumb boys in love, and I'm happy for them. Are you?"

He chuckled, and said, "Yeah. I am."

"Then wait for them to come clean. They will. This isn't a fling," she said, taking the phone from him. "These two are in love, Bobby. Real love. Once in a lifetime kind of love. I don't think you need to worry about Buck anymore. He's found what he's been looking for."

Bobby smiled, a little misty-eyed. "Yeah," he agreed. "I think he has."

**~*~*~**

Buck and Eddie sat Christopher down after trick-or-treating and went through his Jack O' Lantern full of candy. Eddie sifted through it, sorting it out – Buck grimaced at a toothbrush that had been thrown in, and tossed it aside with disgust. Christopher selected a couple of pieces to have that night, handing one each to Buck and Eddie as well.

After showering and dressing for bed, Eddie read to Christopher while Buck lounged on the floor and listened, his eyes drooping shut every now and then. Christopher was quiet for the most part, and then he said, "Dad, the kids at school were talking about how the pier is opening this weekend."

Surprised, Eddie paused, and glanced at him. "They were?"

Buck looked up at them with concern.

"Yeah. Do you think… maybe we could go for a drive down there?" Christopher asked hesitantly. "To see it?"

Eddie ran a hand through his curls and said, "If that's what you want. I was going to ask you if you wanted to go down there anyway. Maybe the three of us could go on some rides."

"Buck's too tall," Christopher said, and Buck chuckled from the floor. "I could show you where we were. When we saw it."

"Yeah, you could." Eddie rested his chin atop Christopher's head, gazing down at Buck. "Yeah, I'd really like that."

"And how Buck saved me."

"Well, Buck's our guy," Eddie said, flashing him a smile. "He's on our team. He always has been."

"An honorary Diaz," Buck agreed, stretching out on the floor.

"One day not so honorary, though, right?" Eddie raised his eyebrows at him. "Maybe we make it official. Diaz-Buckley, or Buckley-Diaz. What do you prefer?"

Buck was silent for a moment, and then looked up at them with watery eyes. "Whatever you guys want. I don't mind. I'd drop the Buckley altogether."

"No," Christopher complained. "No. Buckley-Diaz."

"Then that's what we'll do." Eddie gestured for Buck to join them on the bed, and he did, resting his head on Christopher's lap and tucking his legs up. "So we'll go to the pier," Eddie said quietly, his chin on Christopher's head, his hand in Buck's hair. "And you'll tell me all about it."

"What if it happens again, Dad?" Christopher asked quietly.

"There's a very, very small chance it will ever happen again," Eddie replied. "But if it does, the three of us will be together. And you're a strong swimmer."

"I am."

"And we'll be okay." Eddie kissed his cheek.

**~*~*~**

_**Christopher** _

He was supposed to be sleeping, but when they'd left the room and turned his light off, he'd lain awake in bed, looking out the window at the stars, worrying about going to the pier. He didn't want to tell his Dad that he was a little bit scared – Dad had been so upset after the tsunami; he'd cried a lot about it, and Christopher didn't want to make him sad again.

He was going to be brave, because Dad and Buck would be there with him, and how could he be in any possible danger if they were around? They made him feel safe. Dad and Buck would never let anything happen to him.

Christopher wanted another cuddle though, and maybe to sleep in bed with them – maybe Dad would let him? So he carefully slipped out of bed and went to the door, pulling it open just a crack. They were still awake, talking in the living room, and music was playing.

He wanted to see what they were doing, so he crept as quietly as he could down the hall and into the kitchen, peering around the corner. The music was soft – he couldn't hear it with his door closed – and they were standing in the centre of the living room, smiling at each other. Buck's hands were on Dad's shoulders as he spoke, his whole face lit up animatedly, and Dad was listening the way he did when Buck was explaining something of great importance. Dad always listened to Buck; Dad never dismissed Buck and Buck never dismissed Dad.

Christopher had spent a lot of time over the last few years watching them, comparing it to how Dad had been with Mom – he loved his Mom and he missed her; he thought about her a lot and he knew she loved him too, and that she would still be there if she could, but… even as a little boy he knew that his Mom and Dad weren't happy when they were together. They didn't talk the way Dad and Buck did – even when she came back into their lives, he could tell that Dad wasn't happy. Maybe he was trying to be happy because he thought that was what Christopher wanted?

And as much as he loved his grandparents, he was happier too when Dad said they were going to move to Los Angeles together. Dad was never sharp with him the way they were (Dad had never, ever raised his voice to him, even if Christopher had done something wrong – Dad would just talk to him in a normal tone and they would work it out together). Dad was happy to let him do things for himself. If he fell over and skinned his knee, that was okay, because Dad would fix him up.

He thought that his Dad had only really become happy when they moved to Los Angeles and Buck came into their lives – Christopher was shy around Buck at first, but now he couldn't imagine a world without Buck in it, because Buck was going to stay with them _forever._ He and Dad were going to get _married._ He was so excited about that – Buck was going to be like his second Dad, almost?

They hadn't noticed him in the doorway. Buck looked at something on his phone, showed it to Dad and then a new song began to play, a bit more upbeat. Dad was nodding as Buck said something to him, and then Dad took Buck by the hands and began to dance with him – they were _dancing_ , in the living room! Properly dancing, like they did it all the time? Christopher had never seen his Dad dance _ever._

_Every time I look into your lovely eyes,_ _  
I see a love that money just can't buy  
One look from you, I drift away  
I pray that you are here to stay_

And they were serious about it; they weren't laughing or joking, they were waltzing, moving together to the music, hips swaying – Christopher couldn't stop watching the way his Dad looked at Buck, like he was just so happy. Like this was fun but also serious, like the words meant something – and Christopher had never heard this song before, even though Buck played a lot of music when they were together. He wondered if Buck and Dad had their own special songs that they listened to without him?

_Anything you want, you got it_ _  
Anything you need, you got it  
Anything at all, you got it.  
Baby…_

He liked the way that Buck held Dad's hand, how they moved together effortlessly. They smiled at each other a lot – he had to dance at school sometimes and he was embarrassed, especially around girls. Crutches made it hard to dance. He wished he could dance as nicely and as smoothly as Dad and Buck were dancing – maybe one day, he would be able to do that too?

_Every time I hold you I begin to understand  
Everything about you tells me I'm your man  
_ _I live my life to be with you  
No one can do the things you do_

Christopher wondered how different things would be after Dad and Buck were married. Would they want to have more kids? What did that mean for him? Would he even be any good at being a big brother? What if his new little brother or sister didn't like him, or Dad and Buck had less time for him? He did kind of like having them all to himself.

Dad's hands were on Buck's waist, and they were gazing at each other silently and seriously. Christopher wondered if Dad ever danced with Mom like this, or if it was something he only did with Buck? Buck had good taste in music. They hadn't really listened to music until Buck came along and filled their house with it.

_I'm glad to give my love to you_ _  
I know you feel the way I do…_

He lost his grip on the door and stumbled a bit, and that was when Dad saw him, his face filling with concern. "Christopher?!"

That made him tip right over onto his hands and knees, but Dad and Buck were there beside him in a flash. "You okay, buddy?" Buck asked worriedly, helping him sit up.

"Did the music wake you?" Dad was checking him over automatically, as though falling onto the soft carpet might have left a mark.

Christopher shook his head. "I couldn’t sleep."

Buck turned off the music on his phone, kneeling beside Christopher on the carpet. "Sorry," he apologised to him – why, Christopher didn't know. "Maybe we were too loud."

"No," he said, screwing his face up. He needed them to understand that it was okay. "No, I wasn't asleep."

"Too much candy?" Dad asked with concern. "You feeling okay?"

"No, no."

"No?" Dad sounded alarmed.

"No – _yes_ ," he said, trying to force the words out of his mouth. "I wanted to stay in your room tonight."

"Oh," Dad said, peering at him as though he was still worried that he was dying or something. "We can do that," he said. "We were just about to go to bed. Buddy, are you worried about going to the pier? We don't have to go."

"No," he said, shaking his head. He wanted to go – wanted to prove to them that he was brave like they were. "What was that song? What were you talking about?"

Dad glanced at Buck, who said, "That was Roy Orbison, bud. Did you like it?"

"Yeah, how come you never played it for me?"

Buck said, "Your dad and I have this game where we find songs for each other and play them. That was your Dad's pick for this week."

They had a _game_ that he was not _a part of?_ Indignant, he said, "How come I can't play?"

Dad let out a laugh, touching his shoulder. "You can play," he said. "We can add you to the game as well."

"I want to listen to music; I like Buck's music, it's nice."

"It is nice," Dad agreed. "But it's late tonight, and we're all tired. How about we go to bed?"

"Okay," he agreed, still feeling left out.

"I've got to brush my teeth," Dad said, glancing at Buck, "but you guys go in and I'll be there in a minute."

Buck stood up, effortlessly lifting Christopher up into his arms. "Come on, kiddo," he said. "Sneaky little spy, aren't you?"

Christopher giggled, his arms wrapped around Buck's neck. "I just wanted to know what you were doing."

Buck carried him down the hallway to the main bedroom. It was all changed now, with Buck's big bed and new side tables. Buck had hung pictures on the wall as well one day while Dad was at the school for a meeting, and Christopher had supervised from the bed. He'd helped Buck pick out the photos from the pictures on Buck's camera roll and they'd printed them out together, so he was in charge of where they were hung in the bedroom. And Dad had come home and looked at the pictures for a long time, with a soft smile on his face like he was just so _happy_.

Buck had even bought nice new sheets and blankets for the bed so it was comfy, way nicer than Dad's old bed, and Christopher curled up in the middle with a pillow tucked under his head. Buck slid in, flicking on the lamp beside the bed, and then tucked Christopher against him, resting his chin on his head. He held his phone up so Christopher could see the screen, and scrolled through his music app. "It's my turn next," he said, "so you and I will pick the song to surprise Dad with together. Okay?"

"Yes, okay," Christopher agreed. He'd be good at picking songs. Buck had taught him a lot about music.

Dad came into the room then, flicking off the overhead light. He took his watch off at the dresser, watching them with a small smile on his face, before crawling into bed beside them and pulling the covers up. Christopher reached for his hand, grasping it with both of his, holding it against his chest. Dad was smiling at them, his eyes sparkling, and he laughed when Buck took a photo of him.

"Can't help yourself," Dad said affectionately.

"Nope."

"Give me the phone," Dad said, holding out his free hand.

Buck passed it over, and Christopher didn't have to look at him to know that he was beaming when Dad took a picture of them as well, and then held the phone up over their heads to take a photo of them all together.

**~*~*~**

**Author's Note:**

> [Roy Orbison - You Got It](https://youtu.be/lvR1YgT7QYs)
> 
> Find me at Tumblr: [woodchoc_magnum](https://woodchoc-magnum.tumblr.com/)


End file.
